


Cake

by inabodycastofglass



Series: Old works [16]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: F/M, Post Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 10:16:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7973242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inabodycastofglass/pseuds/inabodycastofglass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a simple task. Make a cake for her father's birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cake

**Author's Note:**

> My prompt was "cookies". Oops.

It was a simple task. Make a cake for her father’s birthday. So how on earth Natalia had wound up with batter burnt to the pan and still wet like soup, chunks of thick batter in her hair, and an overflowing sink she had no idea. She had followed the rules to a T, it should have turned out fine. Great even. What had gone wrong?

The door to the kitchen opened and she was terrified it would be one of the maids that would have to clean the place up. She wanted to finish the cake and take care of most of the cleaning, or at least what she knew how to do. A maid would just shoo her away and take care of it herself.

But instead standing in the doorway in total shock was Asch. His mouth hung open and he just stared at the mess in front of him.

He ran for the sink and turned off the water. Natalia couldn’t understand how she had got so overwhelmed as to be unable to remember to do even that.

He turned back to her, glaring. “What are you doing?”

She swallowed, trying to find her voice. Her breath caught in her throat. “Baking?”

He sighed. “Don’t answer my question with another question. Are you baking or aren’t you?”

"I am. A cake. For father’s birthday party tonight.“

He walked toward her, looking at everything that had gone wrong, taking in even the smallest mistake. Not even a drop of batter on the floor escaped him. Natalia saw him looking at things she hadn’t even realised went wrong.

"You thought you would make a cake for your father without any help, without even knowing what to do.” It wasn’t a question. Asch didn’t ask questions when he already knew the answer. He was simply stating Natalia’s shortcoming.

"Yes.“

He took a deep breath and held it, watching Natalia. His eyes traveled over her face. From her mouth, to her eyes, to her hair.

She started to pull the batter out of her hair, taking entire handfulls, and dropping it on the floor. She could feel her body growing hot, from her heart to her face.

He reached up and pulled a small bit off one of her eye lashes, tossing it in the pile she'd created. "Idiot.”

She hadn’t even realized any was there. She closed her eyes and took a breath. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to yell or cry. She and Asch had been on such poor terms lately that she felt as if she was about to crack just looking at him. Ever since he came back, the two had nearly started fighting every time they came in contact with each other. Though she usually left before she started to cry, so they were constantly left with the weight of all their altercations pressing down on them.

"I must ask that you do not call me that.“ She could feel herself shaking deep down, her heart beating fast. It took so much to compose herself in front of him right now. In front of a crowd of people she was fine, flourished even. But in front of Asch, she could barely even breath. Why?

He sighed, light and airy, and stepped backwards. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rubber band, pulling his hair into it. It was bumpy and unkempt, so unlike his usual appearance. "Get me a cup of milk.” He reached into a cupboard and pulled out a clean mixing bowl.

Natalia took the mug she had used and filled it with milk. She walked over and handed it to him, growing annoyed when he didn’t take it.

"That is a mug.“

"Yes. Filled with milk.”

He stared at it for a moment longer, and took it, setting it on the counter next to the bowl and went to another cupboard, and pulled out a measuring cup. He poured about half of the milk into the cup. He then handed the mug back to Natalia and poured it in the bowl. “Now get me the butter and a table spoon.

They continued on like that for the rest of the preparations and mixing, with Asch telling Natalia exactly where she went wrong, which happened to be in a lot of places. In fact, she had done nearly everything wrong.

At one point she started pouting and stood in a corner, refusing to help because she would just mess it up again. And she did not find it amusing when Asch told her that his skill could even block out her inability to make a sandwich, so the cake should turn out edible. She gave him a glare more intense than he’d ever given Luke.

Though she did enjoy it when he came up behind her, taking her hand in his, and directing it in the right way. She was still mad at him, so she wouldn’t tell him. Jerk.

When they sat down on the floor, their backs against a wall, watching the cake rise in the oven, they were silent for a while. But when Natalia let out a suppressed giggle Asch finally turned to her and asked her what she was laughing at.

"You have batter on your eyelashes. Hold on.” She leaned toward him and carefully picked it out. She noticed once again how long they were. It really wasn’t fair for a boy to have such long eyelashes. Though perhaps all boys had long lashes. Honestly, she’d never got close enough to another boy to compare them. Not aside from her father. And that had been so long ago she couldn’t remember.

"There.“ She tossed it in a random direction. But she didn’t move just yet. He had locked eyes with her and she was mesmerized by green. They had the distinct colour of royal blood. Pure green. Dark green. They weren’t infected with the bits of blue that hers was. As a child she was convinced it was because she had an ancestor lost in history with blond hair and blue eyes that she’d taken after. But that was just the dream of a child.

"Natalia.”

Her eyes twitched, bringing the rest of the world back into view. She hadn’t realized she’d been touching his face. She pulled her hand back and sat down, hugging her legs to her chest to make sure she didn’t do something like that again.

"I'm sorry. I seem to have lost myself for a moment. It will not happen again.“

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, getting the batter stuck in his hair, and causing Natalia to laugh again. He looked down at her, a brow raised slightly, furrowing awkwardly into his other.

"We match.”

He looked up like he was trying to see his own hair, before his mouth made an “O”, and he tried to pick it out, only making it worse. He gave up after Natalia nearly fell over from laughter.

"Whatever.“

She composed herself, wiping away a tear, creating a streak of batter under her eye like war paint. "No, please tell me.” She cleared her throat in hopes that she’d be able to get rid of the giggles that were left over.

He stared at the oven for a minute while Natalia waited patiently. “You know…” He fell silent again, sifting through his words, picking out the perfect ones. “I don’t hate you.”

"What?“ She knew there was a misunderstanding there just by hearing his voice. "Asch, I never thought you hated me.”

She watched him as his face turned red, his ears looking like he’d been out in the sun too long. “I thought…” He trailed off, his voice growing thick.

She sat up, turning to him. “I never thought that you hated me, or even disliked me.” She reached a hand up to place on his cheek, her fingers brushing his skin lightly as his face grew warmer. “We are fighting, yes. But-” She took a breath, preparing herself for rejection. She knew he would.

He tensed and she had to force herself not to pull back, not to look worried. Her expression became unnatural, tight with a forced calm. Ugly.

"Natalia, we’re…“

"I know.”

"But we’re not-“

"I know.”

"Natalia, we’re-“

"I know! I know.” Her hand slid down his face, curling into the beginnings of a fist. “Please, don't say it. Don’t… don’t say it.” She looked to her lap, raising her shoulders, her body tense, hard. She didn’t want to hear it, not from him.

She felt his hand on hers, holding it tight. “Natalia.”

She looked to the side, trying desperately not to run away. Her entire body ready to heave. She hadn’t prepared herself enough. She should never have said anything. She was shaking, her entire body, and she knew Asch could feel it. It was as if she was a tuning fork that had been struck.

"I cannot be king.“ His voice was soft, the way she had always imagined it, dreamt it, when he told her he loved her, said sweet things. Not when he was turning her away. The voice reserved for those nightmares was dark and cruel. Never did he let her down slowly. Even now she didn’t feel like he was. Even now she felt herself being crushed, far more than she ever had when he was yelling at her. Because this was real life. This was final.

She stood up and tried to walk away, but he held tight to her hand. She looked down at him, nearly glaring at her. Perhaps he was angry, or perhaps he had no idea how to express the emotion he was feeling. Either way he was rejecting her. Either way she just wanted to leave.

"Wait. Listen to me.” She couldn’t tell if he was demanding, asking, or begging. But she could hardly look at him. The hand he was holding was burning, white hot, nearly freezing. “If I could be with you…”

He fell quiet again, and Natalia could no longer tell if she wanted to run away or listen. Would it be easier to listen, or to know for sure that they could be together, if only?

"But I can’t. Because I can’t be king. And you need a king. Your country needs a king, not me.“

She fell to her knees, tears running down her face, her body shaking, but otherwise calm, too calm for how she was feeling. That in itself scared her.

"But I need you.” Her voice didn’t quiver. She met his eyes. “I can run this country better alone than beside any possible king.” She looked between them, looked for anything. He looked scared and… nothing. She could make out nothing else. Just the tears welling up. “Asch, I-” She swallowed. “I love you.”

He was crying. Tears fell down his face, but he didn't move. Nothing changed. Finally his head fell on her chest, resting there. And she knew she could feel him shaking. “I love you, too.” His voice was raspy, raw. “So much. I love you.”

She took a deep breath until her lungs hurt, and wrapped her arms lightly around him. He clung to her tightly, pulling her body to him so she was nearly doubled over backwards. And they stayed like that, until their bodies both stopped shaking. And until-

"Is something burning?“


End file.
